Review: M-Audio Fast Track USB

Introduction

Like most young adolescent males I fantasized about being a rock star and unlike many I didn’t buy the $200 electric guitar package from the mall. Well, not until I was well into my thirties. It only took 20 years for me to finally pick up a guitar and start some lessons at the mall. Let me start by saying the lesson you get at the mall are awesome. They’ll teach you all the classics like, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "Marry Had a Little Lamb", and if you stick around for more than 2 weeks you might even learn a couple riffs from "Smoke on the Water". Once you’ve mastered playing the guitar live (usually takes about 2 weeks), you are going to want to immortalize yourself. That’s right! I’m talking about recording the songs you’ve learned at the mall, so you can listen to them over and over. So how do you go about recording "twinkle twinkle little star"? Well, if you’re a geek like me then you are going to want to record it onto your computer. I did some research and I found a rather inexpensive USB Audio interface that will do the job. I’m talking about the M-Audio Fast Track USB Audio Interface.  Here are my findings with a quick overview:

Overview

You might be wondering exactly what the M-Audio Fast Track USB Audio interface is and why would someone one need it, especially if your computer already has a sound card.  The Fast Track USB is a special audio interface with amplified line-in inputs.  It is possible to connect your electric guitar directly into your computer's sound card through the line-in input with an adapter (1/8" to 1/4" converter), but because an electric guitar is passive you need power to amplify the guitar pickups and most likely your computer's line-in doesn't provide that power.  There are couple other ways to work around this problem, but are out of the scope of this review. 

Features

• easy to connect and use
• professional 24-bit/48kHz sound
• dynamic microphone input (XLR) with gain control and signal LEDs
• switchable instrument/line input (1/4”)
• stereo headphone output (1/8”)
• stereo output jacks (RCA)
• level control for headphones and main outputs
• USB bus-powered
• compatible with GarageBand and most other music software
• USB class compliant (OS X 10.3.5 and higher) for plug-and-play operation
• direct hardware monitoring for synchronized overdubs
• mono switch sends input signal equally to left and right channels
• includes GT Player Express software

What's in the box

• Fast Track USB audio interface
• M-Audio Driver CD (includes driver installation software)
• One (1) standard USB cable
• User's Guide and warranty card

Getting Started

Hooking things up

I decided to hook up the Fast Track USB up to my PC first (2.6ghz running Windows XP) . The hook up was super easy. I installed the driver from the CD, plugged the supplied USB cable into the Fast Track and into my PC, then I followed up by installing the GT Player Express software that came with the unit. The moment of truth came when I plugged my electric guitar into 1/4" line-in input in the back of the unit and fired up the software. I belted out a G chord and then a C chord, but I instantaneously became nauseated with latency between me playing the chord and the time it came out of the computer's attached speakers. I fiddled with it for about an hour and finally raised the white flag. The reason I gave up so quickly was my original goal was to hook this up to my Mac and use it with GarageBand. So I went through the same hook up procedure with my Mac Mini, but the main difference was, no driver was needed. Mac OS X had the driver built-in, joy!

Testing it out

GT Player Express software

So once everything was hooked up I fired up the GT Player Express software on the Mac (Yep it runs on both platforms) and attempted the same test as I did when I had the Fast Track hooked up to the PC. I fired a G chord followed by a C chord; not surprisingly it worked, zero latency (or zero perceived latency). An interesting side-note is that the supplied software has built-in effects with it and they sound better than I expected. I own a Korg PX-4 and the distortion effect supplied with GT Player sounds better than my dedicated effects processor. But I digress!

GT Player Express

GarageBand

If you've got a Mac then you are probably familiar Apple's GarageBand. For those that don't have a Mac or are not familiar with GarageBand, it is a multi-track recording software package that allows you to record, edit, and mix audio tracks. Unfortunately it's only available on the Macintosh, but for those with PCs there are some comparable software packages out there. Because I have a Mac I'm using GarageBand to record and mix my incredible guitar masterpieces. It was time for me to record a song. So, I launched GarageBand, created a new project called "My Song" (how original of me), added a real instrument track, set the track to monitor out (So I can hear myself playing) and laid down my rhythm guitar track. Next I added another real instrument track and laid down my smoking lead guitar track. Click to hear my totally sweet song :MySong.mp3

GarageBand

Audio

The Fast Track USB allows you to connect both a Microphone through XLR input and an Electric guitar through the 1/4" line-in input. I wasn't able to test the Microphone recording capabilities of the Fast Track, because I don't own a microphone and even more importantly I didn't want to because my singing voice is crap. So consider it a blessing <grin>. The recording audio quality of the Fast Track USB is surprisingly good considering the price point. I wouldn't recommend it for serious or professional musicians (neither which I am), but for the casual or financially challenged musician the Fast Track is a good inexpensive solution. For the more serious musician you might consider stepping up to the M-Audio FireWire Solo.

Conclusion

If you didn't pickup on the subtle sarcasm, I'm no professional musician I'm not even an amateur musician. I would consider myself more of a hobbyist. That being said this review is written in that context. If you are looking for an inexpensive way to record your electric guitar on your PC or Mac then you won't be disappointed with the M-Audio Fast Track USB. For those with a PC it might take a bit more configuration to get the Fast Track working correctly without latency. I suspect if I devoted a bit more time I could have solved my PC latency problems (For the record many people do use the Fast Track on a PC and do not have any problems), but since my intent was to connect it to my Mac I quickly gave up. I only have one issue with this device I wish that the line-in input was a bit more amplified and that there was a way to control the level directly on the device. I've read a work around for this short-coming by buying an 1/4" to XLR adaptor and connecting your Guitar through the Microphone XLR connector on the Fast Track USB. This will allow you to control the input level for your Guitar directly from the device.

Pros:

• Easy to Install (At least on a Mac)
• Good Audio Quality
• Cool blue light (what can I say)
• Inexpensive
• Can record both Microphone and Guitar simultaneously

Cons:

• No 1/4" line-in input level control on unit

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Review: Trendnet TK-210k 2-Port USB KVM with Audio

Introduction

When we decided to add an Apple Mac to our house we wanted to keep our existing monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The plan was to buy a KVM (keyboard video mouse) switch that would let us easily switch between our Mac Mini and Dell PC while allowing us to share a single display, keyboard, and mouse. At first this seemed rather straightforward. I figured I could just fire up a browser and hit Newegg and problem solved, however this turned out to be a bit more difficult. Three reasons:

• I added the additional requirement of sharing a pair of speakers between computers.
• The Mac only accepts USB Mice and Keyboards.
• Wanted an actual button on the KVM to switch between computers, not just hotkey switching.

So started my search. I managed to find several offerings from various vendors, but none of them meet all my requirements. They would have all the features I was looking for like support for USB Mice/Keyboards (out) and audio switching, but they would either not have a button for switching between computers or they would only support PS/2Mice/Keyboards (in) and they did USB emulation (out). When I just about gave up hope, I stumbled on to Trendnet's TK-210k 2-Port USB KVM with Audio. The user reviews on Newegg were mixed, but I decided to take a gamble. Here are my findings with a quick overview:

Features

• Use one keyboard, monitor, and mouse to control two computers
• PS/2 and USB Keyboard/Mouse emulations
• 2-Port KVM Switch in compact size design
• Built-in 2-Port USB 1.1 Hub for sharing USB devices
• UHCI, OHCI USB interface support
• Support very High Video Quality, up to 1920 x1440
• Supports computers with Windows95/98/NT/ME/2000/XP, and Linux
• Multi-platform support for PC and Macintosh G3 /G4 / iMac
• Hot-Plug feature; add PCs or remove connected PCs for maintenance without powering down the KVM switch or other PCs
• No software required, easy PC selection via Push Button or Hot-Keys
• Auto-Scan Mode for monitoring PCs
• LED display for easy status monitoring
• Beeping sound for port switching confirmation
• 2-Year Warranty

What's in the box

• 2-Port KVM Switch in compact size design
• Base stand for tower mode
• User Guide
• 2 x 3-in-1 KVM cable (male to male), 1.2 meters(4 feet)
• 2 x USB A-B cable (male to male), 1.2 meters (4feet)
• 2 x Audio+Microphone cable, 1.2 meters (4 feet)

Hooking it up

Hooking things up was pretty straightforward. I connected the VGA cable from my LCD monitor to the back of the KVM into the connector labeled "MONITOR". Then I connected the Mac and PCs video out with the supplied VGA cables to the KVM's connectors respectively labeled "VGA 1" and "VGA 2". Followed by connecting the supplied USB and Audio cables between the back of the KVM and computers. Finally I connected my speakers to the Audio out connector below the connector labeled monitor and finished by connecting a USB keyboard and mouse to the USB connectors in the front of the unit labeled "DEVICE 1" and "DEVICE 2".

Testing it out

Switching

So once everything was hooked up I tested my keyboard and mouse on my PC. The KVM indicated that computer 1 was selected (My PC), everything appeared to work correctly. So I hit the button on the KVM labeled "2" and expected everything to switch over to my Mac, but I quickly discovered that wasn't the case. The video and audio switched, but my USB keyboard and Monitor didn't. I pressed the '2' button again and the keyboard and mouse became active. A quick look through the manual (yes, it helps to actually read the manual) showed that the video, audio, and PS/2 keyboard and mice switch independently from the USB devices. There is an option to enable "binding" which synchronizing the switching of USB devices and everything else. This is exactly what I wanted. To enable 'binding" you use the hotkey sequence of "ScrLk + ScrLk + Z". I performed the sequence and tested again, but same problem. I eventually discovered that hotkeys are not supported if you are using a USB keyboard, they are only supported when using a PS/2 keyboard. I hooked up a PS/2 adaptor to my keyboard and plugged it back into the KVM and performed the hotkey sequence again. It worked! Everything was synchronizing and I was able to switch back and forth between the Mac and PC. I discovered an additional problem while I was doing some testing. This device receives it power from the USB interface from the computers and it doesn't store any setting you apply through hotkeys. If the device loses power (shutdown down both computers will cause this) and you are using a USB keyboard you will need to reconnect a PS/2 keyboard to perform the hotkey sequence again to enable "binding". This problem can be remedied by purchasing the Optional 9V DC, 500mA Adapter which will supply power to the device even if both computers are powered down.

Video Quality

Since DVI KVMs were price prohibitive (about 3x the cost of a VGA KVM) I decided to get a VGA KVM. I wasn't expecting the video to be all that great, but I was pleasantly surprised. No visible signs of ghosting, washed out colors, or artifacts. In addition VGA KVMs support higher resolutions than DVI KVMs (DVI1600 x 1200 vs. VGA 1920 x1440). This means you can get a Dell 24" wide screen LCD and use it with this KVM.

Audio

I don't exactly have the best computer speakers, but I was pleased with what I heard. No noticeable noise or distortion. I don't believe that anything over 2-channel audio is supported through this switch. I might be wrong. I did not see anything in the documentation to indicate that it did or didn't and since I don't own a surround PC speaker set I was unable to conduct a test for multi-channel audio.

Conclusion

Despite some hurdles I had getting this KVM working I'm overall pleased. It works good and I haven't noticed any mouse or keyboard lag while using a USB keyboard/mouse. A nice side effect of this KVM is it combines the keyboard/mouse into a single USB interface. This means that I now have one USB cable connected to my computers for a keybord/mouse instead of 2. This saves me an extra USB port. For those that have a PS/2 keyboard and mouse this KVM will emulate USB (convert); therefore you can use a PC keyboard/mouse with a Mac. My only real grip with this device is inability to switch between computers using Hotkeys while using a USB keyboard. This isn't necessarily a deal breaker for me because I wanted a button on the KVM for switching, but it would be nice if it supported both. There are a couple other options for those who want a KVM with similar features as this one and would rather have hotkey switching instead of KVM button switching. Belkin and IOGear both make such devices.

Pros:

• Supports USB and PS/2 keyboards/mice with emulation
• Audio and Microphone switching
• KVM push button switching
• Good video quality
• No USB keyboard/mouse lag
• Consolidates mouse/keyboard USB interface into single connector.

Cons:

• Doesn't come with power supply (optional)
• No support for hotkey switching when using a USB keyboard

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